Online First Design vs Graceful Degradation
Developers should learn and use Online First Design when building web applications that need to be reliable and accessible in environments with unstable or limited internet access, such as mobile apps, e-commerce sites, or tools for remote areas meets developers should learn and apply graceful degradation when building applications that need to support a wide range of users, such as in enterprise environments, public websites, or regions with varying internet speeds and device capabilities. Here's our take.
Online First Design
Developers should learn and use Online First Design when building web applications that need to be reliable and accessible in environments with unstable or limited internet access, such as mobile apps, e-commerce sites, or tools for remote areas
Online First Design
Nice PickDevelopers should learn and use Online First Design when building web applications that need to be reliable and accessible in environments with unstable or limited internet access, such as mobile apps, e-commerce sites, or tools for remote areas
Pros
- +It is crucial for enhancing user engagement and retention by preventing disruptions during network failures, making it ideal for applications where offline functionality is a key requirement, like travel apps or productivity tools
- +Related to: progressive-web-apps, service-workers
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
Graceful Degradation
Developers should learn and apply graceful degradation when building applications that need to support a wide range of users, such as in enterprise environments, public websites, or regions with varying internet speeds and device capabilities
Pros
- +It is crucial for ensuring accessibility compliance, improving user experience in fallback scenarios, and maintaining functionality during network issues or browser incompatibilities, often used alongside progressive enhancement strategies
- +Related to: progressive-enhancement, web-accessibility
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
These tools serve different purposes. Online First Design is a methodology while Graceful Degradation is a concept. We picked Online First Design based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.
Based on overall popularity. Online First Design is more widely used, but Graceful Degradation excels in its own space.
Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev